The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Dust boot assemblies are commonly utilized in vehicle suspension systems to shield and protect shock absorber components from dust and debris. Existing designs attach the dust boot to the outside of a rate ring, as illustrated in FIG. 3. As compared to the design of the present disclosure, the design of FIG. 3 requires an additional assembly operation, requires more packaging space for the dust boot, has the potential for the dust boot to come loose from the jounce bumper, and requires tight tolerances on the rate ring and dust boot interface.
As an alternative, dust boots have been attached directly to the jounce bumper, as illustrated in FIG. 4. As compared to the design of the present disclosure, the design of FIG. 4 also requires more packaging space for the dust boot, has the potential for the dust boot to come loose from the jounce bumper and requires tight tolerances on the jounce bumper and dust boot interface.
As yet another alternative, dust boots have been pressed directly into the upper shock mount, as illustrated in FIG. 5. As compared to the design of the present disclosure, the design of FIG. 5 also requires an additional assembly operation at the final assembly location and requires more packaging space for the dust boot.
Accordingly, it is desirable in the art to provide a dust boot retention system which requires fewer assembly steps, eliminates the risk of the dust boot coming loose from the jounce bumper, eliminates the need for the customer to assemble the dust boot, and reduces the overall package size of the assembly.